WASHINGTON – California will join the US government and 11 other states in bringing suits against Google for abusing its market dominance, said the state’s top prosecutor yesterday.
“Google’s market dominance leaves consumers and small businesses with little choice when it comes to internet search engines,” said state Attorney-General Xavier Becerra in a statement.
“By using exclusionary agreements to dominate the market, Google has stifled competition and rigged the advertising market.”
The US Justice Department and 11 states in October brought a civil case against Google for pursuing an illegal monopoly in its search functions and advertising research services.
The internet titan, founded in 1998 and headquartered in California, has often been accused of abusing its power to exclude competitors.
It is the default search engine on many devices, and its Chrome web browser and Android mobile operating system dominate the market.
DoJ has also accused it of forcing consumers and advertisers to use its services on Android devices, on apps that cannot be deleted, such as Google Maps.
On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission, and prosecutors representing 48 states and territories announced that they have also filed a complaint against social networking giant Facebook for abusing its market dominance. – AFP, December 12, 2020
